Gene Tierney (1920-1991)was born in Brooklyn to well-to-do parents.Her childhood was lavish indeed.She was educated in the finest schools on the East Coast and at a finishing school in Switzerland.After 2 years in Europe,Gene returned to the US where she completed her education.By 1938 she was performing on Broadway in What a Life!Her performances in each of these productions were masterful. In 1945 she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Ellen Brent in Leave Her to Heaven (1945).The pressures of a failed marriage,the birth of a daughter who was mentally retarded in 1943 (after contracting rubella during pregnancy and she gave birth prematurely in 1943 a little girl,Daria,blind and mentally retarded)and several unhappy love affairs resulted in Gene being hospitalized for depression.When she returned to the the screen in Advise and Consent (1962),her acting was as good as ever but there was no longer a big demand for her services.She died of emphysema in Houston.CREDITS:Monika Larsen “Colorful Autumn Night”,Pam Lefors: Brushes